Joining Green Haven

Living in a cohousing community is a rich experience for those who are willing to put energy into it. We are looking for individuals and families who want to make a positive contribution to the life of the community. The path to membership is designed to give newcomers and existing members time to find out whether they are a good fit.

If you think you might be interested in becoming part of Green Haven, the first thing to do is begin coming to meetings. One of our monthly potlucks is a good meeting to begin with, as it will afford you the opportunity to get to know some of us informally and to ask questions about cohousing. Our formal business meetings are tightly scheduled, and there is less opportunity for socializing.

Once you decide you want to join Green Haven, an existing member will serve as your buddy while you work through the membership process. Along the way you will

  • Read and agree to our major governing documents (our vision statement and our caring communication guidelines)
  • Attend a number of meetings
  • Join and participate in one or more of our committees
  • Familiarize yourself with the group’s members and history
  • Undergo training in our decision-making process
  • Introduce yourself formally with a brief biography and informally through conversations with members
  • Pay a nonrefundable initial fee of $200
  • Visit at least one other cohousing community
  • Furnish references

This is a summary of the formal process, but as you can see it takes some time. Once you have completed the process and signaled your decision that you want to become a member, your buddy will propose you for membership to the membership committee. They will review your progress against the membership checklist, and if everything looks good, they will propose you for membership at a business meeting. Then, with the consent of the members, you will become one of us.

Remaining a member in good standing requires continuing to attend meetings, participate in committee work, and meet other obligations, including financial obligations, you agree to when you join.

Your neighbors

Here are thumbnail sketches of some of the people who are already members of Green Haven.

  • Brenda has worked as a paralegal and a schoolteacher. She now grows produce as the manager of a community-supported agriculture farm and tends alpacas and chickens at home. Brenda is one of the founders and managers of the Share Haven Time Bank and is active in numerous community organizations. She has put a lot of time into Green Haven’s site selection committee, is active on the legal committee, and drives a great deal of our meeting logistics and outreach activity. Brenda will be heavily involved in gardening and farming operations at Green Haven.
  • Charlotte is an architect, a LEED accredited professional, and a newly minted grandmother. She is working on a survey of the historic barns of Connecticut and on a survey of modernist architecture in New Haven. Charlotte finished hiking the entire Appalachian Trail in 2009. Charlotte helped guide our architect selection process for Green Haven. She works on the site and design committees and the finance committee.
  • Dick is a self-employed book editor and book designer—as well as a former butcher, baker, printer, organic farmer, peace activist, tech writer, and community organizer, in no particular order. Dick is active on the marketing committee, the design committee, the legal committee, and the project management team.
  • Janet is a storyteller and a retired natural history museum educator who grew up in New Haven. She is a textile collector, and she sews expertly. She is active on Green Haven’s project management team and finance committee, and she carries a tremendous amount of the clerical and logistical load for the organization.
  • Kim is an entomologist. She keeps busy as the bees she studies, with leadership roles in Northeast Organic Farming Association and several other organizations, as well as with her own organic garden, voice lessons, and a French club she has belonged to for decades. Kim devotes considerable time to Green Haven’s policies and procedures committee and is also on the membership committee.
  • Marie is a hospital maternity nurse, a weaver, an electrician, and a gardener. She has spent untold hours on site screening and selection for Green Haven and is active on the design committee and the marketing team as well as being often on the agenda planning team. Marie is active in Share Haven Time Bank and several other community organizations.
  • Terry is a retired research psychologist who runs around starting new community organizations in his spare time. He is a founding member of Green Haven, Share Haven Time Bank, New Haven Transition, and some others. Terry is on Green Haven’s site selection and design committees and the project management team.
  • Tina has a longstanding interest in energy efficient housing, and has lived in two passive solar homes. She was envisioning something like cohousing years before she realized that there was a name for it, and was thrilled to discover that a well established model for cohousing already existed. She is a physician with an unusual specialty practice that has brought her invitations to speak at conferences around the world. Tina is on Green Haven’s design committee and on the policies and procedures committee.
  • Tom has worked for four decades in community services for the elderly, a career he chose after studying at Yale Divinity School. Tom has a lifelong interest in photography, sings in a choir, and has for thirty years been a member of the Greater New Haven Charades Association. Tom has served on Green Haven’s membership, policies and procedures, and marketing committees